5 More Motivational Videos to Help You Succeed Today

5 More Motivational Videos to Help You Succeed Today
Image credit: Thomas Hawk | Flickr

Motivational videos can be a great, free tool to get you pumped up and ready for action. One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is the guidance and motivation provided by mentors, leaders and others who have gone before you. Thanks to the Internet you don’t need to pay to listen and be taught by the greatest masters of motivation.

Here are five more motivational videos that will help you succeed today and the rest of your life.

1. Prove Them Wrong

This is a great compilation video featuring excerpts from top motivational speakers and businesspeople such as Tony Robins, Les Brown and Jim Rohn. If you’ve ever been told you can’t, or that you’re crazy — then this is the video for you.

Related: 5 Ways to Remain Motivated and Focused on Kicking Ass

Listen along to stories of others who have struggled and overcome all odds to succeed. All the great leaders of our time have been told by someone, at some point in their journeys, that they weren’t cut out for their dreams, but they did it anyway. Don’t let others dissuade you — prove them wrong!

 

2. Deserve More

This video starts out with speaker Rafael Eliassen asking you what the difference is between someone who wins in life and someone who loses. The video explores the idea that life responds to what we think we deserve, not necessarily what we want.

The whole premise to this motivational video is to want more for yourself and to want it so badly you know you deserve it, to fight for what you have and to work for what you deserve until you achieve it. It’s about perseverance and passion to get the life of your dreams.

3. You Can Live Your Dream

Watch and listen to this six-minute compilation put together by Video Inspiration and get pumped. Les Brown, Eric Thomas and actor Will Smith explain the qualities it takes and the motivation you need to live your dreams. It is possible and you can do it. You just have to be willing to fight for it and never give up. Watching this video can help reinvigorate you to keep going for that big dream!

Related: The Importance of ‘Showing Up’ Every Single Day

4. The Big Life Lessons

This video isn’t a compilation but rather an excerpt from a speech Steve Jobs gave about the biggest life lessons. Jobs talks about the news he got from his doctors when he was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Faced with death, he shares the ways that death makes life so much more important, urgent and incredible.

It’s an inspiring talk from a man who made an enduring legacy and will remind you to live now because death is the one thing we all share and experience at some point.

5. Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

This is a great, fast-paced video from bestselling author Steven Johnson trying to get at the root of the question of where good ideas actually come from. Johnson points out that we all want good ideas and have the desire to be more creative, so why don’t we have more good ideas and why are some individuals so good at prolifically cranking out great ideas?

Watch the video for some great motivation and insightful looks into idea generation. As Johnson points out in his conclusion, “With today’s tools and environment, radical innovation is extraordinarily accessible to those who know how to cultivate it.”

Related: How to Get Luckier in Business and Life

The Right Way to Take Probiotics

Published September 28, 2015 Publication Daily Health News Source Maria L. Marco, PhD, University of California, Davis

 

You’ve decided to be good to your stomach, so you start taking probiotic supplements. Maybe you’ve been prescribed an antibiotic and want to protect yourself from stomach upset. Perhaps you’ve already experienced a bout of diarrhea from a stomach “bug” and want to get right again. Or you just want to give your gastrointestinal tract a healthy new start.

 

So you buy a 30-day supply of probiotic supplements, and start to take them each day with a glass of water. So far, so good. But what if there were a way for the probiotic to work better…and faster?

 

The trick isn’t to change the probiotic itself but to wash it down with something else—milk. The research is new, and the study was done on animals rather than humans, but it suggests that we should not only choose our probiotic supplements wisely, but also pay careful attention to how our diets affect their ability to help us. Here’s how…

 

WHAT HEALTHY GERMS LIKE TO EAT

 

Researchers at the University of California, Davis examined one of the most studied probiotic species, Lactobacillus casei (L. casei), often used to ferment dairy products such as yogurt and kefir. Strains of L. casei in supplements have been shown to help with many gastrointestinal conditions including constipation, antibiotic-caused diarrhea and even more serious inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel disease (IBD). Popular brands that contain L. casei include Yakult and DanActive.

 

The Davis scientists looked at the effectiveness of a specific strain of L.casei called BL23, which has been shown to improve ulcerative colitis in animal studies and is almost identical to the kind used in the manufacture of many fermented dairy foods. Ulcerative colitis is a disease that causes disabling pain and increases risk for colon cancer for more than 500,000 people in the US.

 

In the study, one group of mice got L.casei in milk, while a second got it in water and a third, just milk (no L. casei). The amount of milk or water was equivalent to about six ounces for humans—what’s in a typical juice glass. Then the mice were given a solution that impaired the lining of their colons, induced inflammation and mimicked ulcerative colitis.

 

The mice that got the probiotic in milk did best, showing…

 

  • Superior survival of the L. casei bacteria in the intestines—five times greater than the mice that got the probiotic in water

 

  • Less diarrhea and rectal bleeding than the other two groups

 

  • Less weight loss (a good outcome in this context)

 

  • The lowest disease score. On a scale of 0 (no disease) to 18 (the worst disease), the milk/probiotic group scored 6, while the water/probiotic group scored 11 and the milk-only group scored 9. That means much less inflammation in the intestines.

 

In short, taking the probiotic in milk rather than water led to more beneficial bacteria surviving and thus greater protection of the lining of the intestines against the inflammatory disease. It didn’t cure the disease, but it did protect the mice from its worst effects.

 

HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PROBIOTIC’S EFFECTIVENESS

 

It makes sense that a beneficial bacteria that thrives in dairy foods would do better in your gut when you take it as a supplement along with dairy. That doesn’t mean that all probiotics would do better with a glass of milk. We need more studies—this is one of the very first to look at the dietary “matrix” in which probiotics are consumed.

 

But it’s smart to hedge your bets. If you’re generally healthy, choose your probiotic wisely. If you have a specific medical condition, such as IBD or Crohn’s disease, be sure to work with an educated health-care provider to select the right probiotic for your needs and to make any changes in your diet.

 

And here’s good general advice for ways to make your probiotic work better…

 

  • Even though you are taking a supplement, make sure you are eating probiotic-rich foods such as yogurt and kefir as well as sauerkraut, miso and kimchi. That way, you’ll be working to improve your population of healthy gut bacteria from several directions.

 

  • Eat plenty of prebiotics, too—fiber compounds that “good bugs” thrive on. These include onions, leeks, garlic, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, bananas, whole wheat, yams and sweet potatoes. (Again, these foods may not agree with you if you have IBD or even the less severe irritable bowel syndrome/IBS.)

 

If the probiotic you’re taking with water every day doesn’t seem to be helping you, try taking it with a small glass of milk to see if that makes a difference. If milk doesn’t agree with you, try cheese, yogurt or kefir. You may even want to add your probiotic supplement to a fermented dairy food, such as yogurt or kefir.

 

Source: Maria L. Marco, PhD, associate professor and microbiologist, department of food science and technology, University of California, Davis. Her study was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

5 Ways Startups Build Priceless Cultures Without Spending a Cent

5 Ways Startups Build Priceless Cultures Without Spending a Cent

HEATHER R. HUHMAN
CONTRIBUTOR
Career and Workplace Expert; Founder and President, Come Recommended
Image credit: Andrew Rich Photography

In the job search market, employees have the upper hand — and they know it. In a 2015 survey of U.S. job seekers conducted by Jobvite, 45 percent of respondents were satisfied with their current jobs but were open to a new one.

Employees are on the lookout for better opportunities, and much of how they decide is based on company culture. Employees don’t want to leave workplaces with awesome cultures and will stay in a job that satisfies them professionally and personally.

Startups have some of the best and most innovative ideas when it comes to company culture. Here are some of the most interesting culture hacks to adopt from creative startups:

1. Celebrate creatively.

A major part of employee satisfaction is recognizing and celebrating employee achievements. Yet, a 2014 survey of employees from more than 500 U.S. organizations conducted by TinyPulse found that 79 percent of employees don’t feel valued at work.

Startups without a lot of extra cash have to find creative non-financial ways to appreciate and motivate their employees.

Experticity, the startup that created GoToMeeting and was sold to Citrix in 2003, built employee recognition into their culture with a large iron bell. The bell was installed in their kitchen, and anyone could ring it at anytime. The bell was meant to be rung for victories, large and small. An employee who rang it without a good reason had to buy breakfast for the whole team the next morning.

After ringing the bell for a valid reason, the employee would send an email to everyone in the company to explain why they rang it and announce the accomplishment. Although some feared the employees would see the bell as a cheesy gimmick, the bell brought genuine excitement to the office. The employees would rush back to their desks to read about and celebrate the achievement.

Creating a culture that celebrates wins, big and small, boosts morale and keep employees motivated and engaged without spending money.

Related: 10 Examples of Companies With Fantastic Cultures

2. Exciting rewards.

At the end of a long project, employees aren’t left with much. They move on to the next one with little fanfare. But at Palantir, a software company that specializes in data analytics, the end of each project is celebrated with a unique memento: a t-shirt.

Every month, the company releases a new version of their software. To commemorate the release, they produce a t-shirt with a unique design featuring the name of the new software. Employees treat these shirts as collectibles. They show how long an employee has been with the company, and allow everyone to remember and look proudly at their past work.

Employees know that, at the end of the month, their hard work will be rewarded. Small tokens of appreciation can be a big deal. Get employees excited about their own work and the overall accomplishments of the organization.

3. Build supportive teams.

An employee’s first day is overwhelming. There’s the stress of learning new information, and the awkwardness of meeting and getting to know a new set of coworkers.

Commerce Sciences, an A/B testing platform, eases the nerves of new employees with a welcoming tradition. The last employee who joined the team is responsible for creating a starter kit for the next new employee. There are no rules, and they use their creativity to fill the kit with jokes, books, coffee, nerf guns, and anything else.

The starter kits gets employees involved in the welcoming process and helps new employees feel connected and supported by the team from day one.

Great employees don’t magically translate to great teams. Create a culture where employees collaborate and support each other. Make employees feel welcome from their first day to better integrate them to the team and keep the team strong.

Related: 4 Ways to Establish a Strong Culture Without Sacrificing Startup Success

4. Integrate culture and mission.

Company culture is a direct reflection of the brand, and workplace values should relate to the company mission. For Maptia, a storytelling platform for travelers, creating a culture that reflected their mission meant moving their headquarters to another continent.

When the startup couldn’t afford to set up shop in the team’s hometown of London, they moved to a small beach town in Morocco. The move allowed them to better live the company’s mission to explore the world and share their stories.

The location was the perfect place to blend the startup culture with their everyday lives. During stressful times, they could easily relax by surfing, doing yoga on their rooftop, or cliff jumping. These fun activities became a routine part of their days, allowing them to live their mission and work hard at the same time.

There’s a lot of work that needs to be done at startups, so focus on a work-life blend, not balance. Achieving this blend requires startups to focus on what’s most important to their brand and their culture. Tools like The Good Jobs can help companies discover which cultural values are most important so they can focus their values.

Make those values central to the company culture — the company should live and breathe them.

5. Focus on communication.

Employees value transparent workplaces. In fact, a survey of 1,000 U.S. employees published in March by 15Five found that 81 percent of respondents would rather join a company that values open communication than trendy perks like gym memberships and free food.

Enplug, a digital display software startup, offers their employees open communication reddit-style. Every few weeks, the company holds an ask me anything session with company leadership. Employees submit their questions before the meeting and each one is answered and discussed in detail in a presentation.

Encourage employees to ask questions and share their thoughts, and make them feel comfortable doing so. Welcome new ideas and value their feedback to build a culture of communication.

Related: 3 Truths You Must Embrace to Lead Your Team to the Summit

Lessons From a 91-Year-Old Entrepreneur That Are Still Relevant Today

CLAY CLARK
CONTRIBUTOR
Founder of Thrive15.com

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with 91-year-old entrepreneur Jack Nadel to ask him how he has been able to achieve sustainable success in a wide range of industries over a 70 year span of time.

Nadel started his first business venture immediately after World War II and went on to found, acquire and operate more than a dozen companies worldwide that have produced hundreds of new products, thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in profits. Over the course of years, Nadel has also built up the Jack Nadel International multi-million dollar empire, a promotional merchandise distribution.

Because of his success, my seven-hour and three-day mentorship session with Nadel provided me with countless actionable and invaluable business tips, strategies and advice. Here are three particularly valuable lessons Nadel shared with me:

Related: 7 Management Lessons From a 7-Time CEO

Find a need and fill it.

Nadel stressed to me that finding a need and filling it is his best and most important advice. He explained to me that this advice applies to both product and service-based businesses, startups or giant corporations. “Success is in finding a real market need and filling it,” he said. Nadel pointed out that his adherence to this lesson has allowed him to enjoy success in multiple industries over the past 70 years while many other businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs around him were struggling or going out of business.

Don’t let your ego get in the way.

Nadel emphasized that in order to achieve massive success as an entrepreneur you must be receptive to coaching, know your numbers and do your research. He warned, “There’s nothing quite as exciting as a new idea, especially when you’re convinced the idea is worth a million bucks, or more, but watch out. Great ideas are rarely born fully formed, and a new idea is like a 2-year-old: loud, self-centered and completely without perspective.” Having consulted with thousands of entrepreneurs all around the world, this lesson really resonated with me, because I see egos getting in the way of most entrepreneurs every day.

Remember: the business idea or concept you are considering right now is not the first or last incredible business opportunity that you are going to come across. The billionaire success story Richard Branson was correct when he once said, “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.”

Related: Unlikely Lessons From Building a Multi-Million Dollar Social Business

Most successful entrepreneurs aren’t geniuses.

As a business consultant and the founder of Thrive15.com, I constantly run into people at conferences and in workshops who don’t feel like they are worthy of success, or have the mental capacity and the connections needed to achieve success because they are not geniuses. However, this is not the case. “Every generation will produce technology pioneers like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Elon Musk, who invent revolutionary new products and services,” says Nadel. “They seem to have a genetic pre-disposition toward genius, but for the majority of us, the non-geniuses, the best solution is still to be entrepreneurial, even if only to earn enough income to cover the difference between expenses and earnings.”

He went on to say, “I speak from seven decades of experience, which have provided me with knowledge that is invaluable in an ever-changing market. I’ve lived, learned and profited knowing that every down stroke has an upstroke, and there is money to be made in either situation.”

Whether you are a current entrepreneur or an aspiring one and regardless of what industry you are in, I encourage you to apply these three lessons to your own life and business.

Related: How Reflection Sets You Up for Success

6 Ways to Fast-Track Your Success Every Morning

6 Ways to Fast-Track Your Success Every Morning

SAFIYAH SATTERWHITE
CONTRIBUTOR
International Success Coach for Female Entrepreneurs
Image credit: IKEA UK | Facebook

“People who are very, very successful don’t forget the importance of routines. There’s a huge correlation between thinking very deliberately about (creating) the right habits in your life and developing successful habits,” says Charles Duhigg, a New York Times investigative reporter and author of The Power of Habit.

The average adult who lives to around age 68 (which is still pretty young) experiences 25,000 mornings! That is 25,000 times to face the world, start anew and chart the course of our life. Our morning routine is a crucial habit that will either enhance our performance and set the tone for the remainder of the day, or set us up to experience daily challenges.

Highly successful people, sometimes naturally, cling to morning rituals as they use this time to ground, center and focus themselves on what lies ahead and how they can best use their time. While the majority of the world wakes up feeling stressed, overwhelmed, tired and negative, you have the power  to experience enjoyment, renewal and productivity by embracing these “rituals.”

So . . . how do you do it? Here are six things that you can include in your morning routine to start your day off on the right foot and experience high levels of productivity, excitement and enjoyment.

1. Wake up early.

The saying “the early bird gets the worm” certainly rings true for the entrepreneurial self-employed go-getters we are. In fact, many articles claim that the most successful people wake up between the hours of 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Being up this early really helps to ensure that you get the time to focus on you and do things that help you get off on the right foot for the day. This, of course, means implementing another important habit: Going to bed by 9 p.m.

Related: 6 Ways to Make Getting Up Early Work for You

2. Express gratitude.

Before you get to the fridge, take a few moments to experience positivity. This sets the tone for the day. If you are a prayer warrior, this a great time to demonstrate your thankfulness for another opportunity to wake up healthy and face the world. Gratitude journals have also been instrumental in ensuring that you have a positive day. Before you step out of bed, take five minutes and write down five things you are thankful for. The effects of filling your mind with happy emotions before other realities start to creep in are astonishing.

3. Drink water.

Every physician will tell you that most of the ailments that otherwise healthy people suffer from on a daily basis are a result of not getting enough water. Fitness guru Shawn Stevenson calls this morning ritual an internal bath and recommends drinking at least one pint first thing. Some people spice it up with lemon and cayenne pepper for a cleansing effect, while others prefer a green tea. Either way, getting pure water into your system will energize you and quench dehydration from the night before.

Related: Don’t Drink Enough Water? This Water Bottle Will Remind You.

4. Get moving.

Exercise in the morning gets your endorphins going and literally wakes your body up. Your preferred exercise should be something you enjoy that gets the results you seek from physical fitness. If just moving is a priority, you may want to go for a daily morning walk; alternatively, if mind-body is your thing, yoga and morning meditation are perfect.

Make this part of the day something you enjoy, as it frames your mood for the day ahead. I like to reward myself by listening to my favorite podcast while on the treadmill. By doing this I have created a positive association with my morning workouts. Simple but it gets results.

5. Skip the pancakes.

Health and fitness research details the impact of carbs on our blood sugar throughout the day. People experience this when they get the midday “crash” around 2 p.m. They are tired after the coffee and doughnut have worn off. Try a healthy green smoothie instead of a bacon, egg and cheese on a kaiser roll!

Here is my favorite daily recipe that gives me a ton of sustained energy:

  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 cup frozen mangos
  • 1 tbsp. goji berries
  • 1 tbsp. “Green Vibrance”

Or, if you like something hot, here is a substitute for your coffee, “blender style”:

  • 1/2 cup warm almond milk + 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp. raw cacao powder
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric
  • 1/2 tbsp. agave syrup
  • 3 dashes cinnamon
  • 1 pinch each of cayenne + sea salt

6. Plan plan plan.

Here is the fun part. Now that your head is clear, plan out what you want to accomplish that day and actually get it done. Remember S.M.A.R.T goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. Aim to complete one full goal a day and then, my friend, you are on your way to the top!

Related: The 24-Minute Morning Routine That Will Make You an Entrepreneurial Rock Star